


(my life is) just a killer dream

by calmena



Series: knew that I could fall [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Gen, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2019-06-11
Packaged: 2020-04-24 17:41:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19178215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/calmena/pseuds/calmena
Summary: In which the Winter Soldier researches the Avengers - and promptly becomes fascinated with Tony Stark.Bucky Barnes Bingo: C3 - FreeTony Stark Bingo: A2 - Bucky Barnes/WS





	(my life is) just a killer dream

**Author's Note:**

> Has this been sitting in my writing folder since January? Yes, yes it has. I finally gave it the final edit, and earthelf beta-read this for me, which I'm very thankful for.
> 
> Enjoy!

Before he starts living in Avengers Tower, before he comes into contact with Captain America after his drop into the Potomac River, before he returns to the US after his hasty flight out of the country, even, he starts to research the Avengers.

He knows they're considered threats by HYDRA, he still has some of the orders he was given in regards to them rattling around in his head, surfacing at the most inopportune moments. However, he doesn't have a lot of information _beyond_ "do not engage", "capture, don't kill" and straight-up kill-commands, depending on which of the Avengers they pertain to.

The Smithsonian exhibit gave him information on who Captain America is and told him who he himself _should_ be, even if James 'Bucky' Barnes feels more like a fictional character to him than anything else.

It didn't give him information on the rest of the Avengers though, beyond mentioning them as Captain America's current team.

So it's with a frown and an uncharacteristic feeling of uncertainty that he chooses a library computer to start looking for answers.

 

* * *

 

There is, apparently, a Norse god on the Avengers. He shakes his head and keeps reading.

 

* * *

 

He ends up spending most of the day sitting in front of the library PC, ignoring the increasingly angry looks the librarian keeps sending him for hogging one of the only two machines. None of the people who come looking for computer access approach him, and there are no complaints besides some quiet mumbles that he only notices because of his improved hearing.

As he expected, Captain America is one of the Avengers that he finds the most information on, though he'd covered most of it when he visited the Smithsonian exhibit, and few things are new to him. Very quickly, he decides that he's exhausted this direction, and moves on.

Tony Stark - Iron Man - is the other.

The name seems familiar as soon as he reads it, like a warning that he's internalized without knowing, and he frowns even as he continues to read. It seems like everything about that man is publicized, which _has_ to be a security risk, he can't help but think.

There is the history of Stark being a weapons dealer, then the kidnapping that he broke out of under his own power.

How the kidnapping was because of Stark's business partner. How said business partner came out of their last disagreement very much not alive.

How Stark was attacked at a car race. How someone created knockoff-armors and almost killed people at the Stark Expo -- and something in his head rustles at that _name_ , but he decides that he really doesn't have time for that right now and resolutely ignores it.

How one of the responsible people died in the resulting battle, and the other ended up in prison for who-knows-how-long.

How he flew a nuclear warhead through a hole in the sky.

How Stark called out a terrorist on TV. How his house was blown up, and yet he managed to destroy the responsible party once again.

He hums as he prepares to leave the library, thinking.

Yes, he decides, Stark is dangerous.

It's promising.

 

* * *

 

Three days later, he's hiding in an alley between two buildings and watching Avengers Tower as much as he can without attracting attention. Originally, he planned to stay much closer to the building, but the unreasonable number of cameras aimed at seemingly every inch of the street in front of the entry forced him to stay further away than he would have liked, to avoid being discovered before he's ready.

He approves.

It isn't paranoia if they are actually out to get you and history has shown that people are, indeed, out to get Stark. Not preparing for that would be foolish, and his research showed that Stark is anything but foolish.

He nods to himself. All that means is that Avengers Tower might be able to offer him safety, as well.

With that begins his time of planning how to approach.

He knows that Captain America is looking for him, and that Captain America would be the easiest way to get access. He also knows that Hydra must be looking for him, though, and he thinks that making himself easy to find for Captain America would only bring Hydra along with him.

He thinks that he might be able to just walk into the Tower if he can figure out how not to be seen as a threat by whoever is responsible for its security. He doesn't think he knows how not to be threatening, however, and then he thinks that his arm alone, malfunctioning as it sometimes is, should and probably would be considered a weapon.

This presents a problem. He doesn't want to become one of the people Stark considers a threat.

He thinks about whether breaking into the Tower would be considered less threatening if he brought something along. Like a gift. Are there any enemies Stark hasn't already managed to get rid of, who need to be dispatched?

In retrospect, it's probably a good thing that someone decides to come down the alley right then, interrupting that thought. Of course, at that moment, he doesn't consider this - he lets a knife slip into his hand and slouches against the wall in a way that hides that he's actually prepared to defend himself at a moment's notice if the person approaching turns out to be Hydra.

Then the entire person - there is no other word - _shimmers_ , and suddenly it's the Iron Man armor hovering in front of him. His reflexively tightened fist releases a bit. Not even he can do much with a knife against what is basically a tank.

"You're the Winter Soldier."

The voice is mechanical through the speakers of the armor, and all he can hear are the joints moving against each other, the steady thrum of the arc reactor and the dull sound that the repulsors make. It feels like he's listening to a robot talk.

There's a vague feeling of what he would almost classify as _wonder_ at that thought. He was, however, not actually asked a question, so he just keeps standing there, quietly marveling at the technological creation in front of him.

"Barnes?"

Again, from the suit, and this time he flinches even as he tries not to, expecting punishment despite himself, because there's a _tone_ in that mechanical voice, and it could be impatience, even if he thinks it might actually be concern.

The suit makes a move as if to reach out for him, but stops itself before it can even come close to touching him - something that he appreciates more than he can express, right now.

There is a pause as if Stark is thinking over the next action, before the suit drops to the ground entirely, lowering his hands and doing the most to make him feel unthreatened.

It would work, too, if he didn't suspect that Stark could still put him down without so much as twitching right then. It's an interesting thought that doesn't cause him anxiety so much as excite him. He so rarely finds people who can take him in a fight.

"Why don't you come in," says Stark, and it's not quite a question but also not quite an order, sitting somewhere comfortably right in the middle.

He can't help but relax a bit at the ease of the decision that leaves him with.

"I'm sure it'd be warmer and more comfortable than this alley."

So he goes. And it is.


End file.
